Maybe Even Two
by bluedragon1836
Summary: A collection of prompt-based snippets and scenes featuring Erend and Aloy.
1. Day Five

**Day Five**

It had been five days since they found Ersa's body and Erend had been drinking steadily for four of them. He knew he should stop, knew this wasn't what she would have wanted for him, but his chest felt like someone had torn his heart out and left him bleeding and raw. So he drank, the buzz of alcohol dulling his senses, numbing the bleeding edges of his being.

He ignored the stares and whispers as he stumbled by, pretending to do his duties as Captain of the Vanguard. As if he could ever fill her shoes. As he approached the gate, his bleary mind realized someone was there, arguing with the Carja guard.

"Erend's sister is dead?"

It was his name that caught his attention, but it was the speaker that held it. Her hair burned like forge fire and she was wearing Nora furs. He only knew one person who fit that description, her name rising out of his despair like a beacon.

"Aloy?"

**I have no idea how many days actually passed between Ersa's murder and Aloy's arrival, but this was where my brain took the prompt and it made a nice first line.**


	2. Killer

Killer

A bandit fell like a puppet with his strings cut, an arrow between his eyes, and Erend refrained from cheering. He was crouched in some tall grass and cheering would definitely have given away his position and probably ensured that Aloy would never take him anywhere ever again.

Even with Hades defeated and the Shadow Carja retreated back into their hidey holes, bandits continued to crop up, harassing travelers and generally being a nuisance. Erend and the Vanguard had often been dispatched to deal with the ones closer to Meridian. This time, however, it had been pure chance that led him here. Aloy had wanted to show him a cauldron and share with him some of what she had been finding out about Gaia and the Old Ones. Due some time off anyway and eager to learn anything Aloy wanted to share, Erend jumped at the chance. They had been on the road when the bandits attacked. It had, of course, been suicide on their part, daring to attack both the Captain of the King's Vanguard and the Savior of Meridian.

"You suppose there's a camp nearby?" Erend had asked, nudging one of the dead bandits with his foot.

Aloy had shrugged. "Shall we find out?"

There had been a camp nearby and now here he crouched, waiting for Aloy to thin their numbers a bit before they charged in. He nearly yelped as Aloy materialized next to him in the grass. She was scarily quiet when she wanted to be.

"That's all I can get from out here," she said quietly. She tapped her focus. "There are at least 10 still inside, maybe more. And they have an alarm. I'll sneak in, disable the alarm. On my signal, you attack from the front and we'll . . ." She trailed off at his unabashed grin. "What?"

"I love when you talk dirty."

She rolled her eyes. "Focus, Erend."

"I'm focused. You go be sneaky and I'll come in loud and proud with my hammer. Bandits won't know what hit 'em."

"You're enjoying this way too much."

"What can I say? I get to clear out some bandits and spend time with the Savior of Meridian. Plus you're much better looking than my Vanguard."

Aloy was looking at him, an odd look on her face. Before Erend could ask what was wrong, she shook her head. "Wait for my signal," she said and slipped away. Erend frowned, wondering what he'd said. She didn't usually mind his flirting, shameless as it was. His thoughts were interrupted by a flurry of panicked shouts from inside the bandit camp. Hefting his war hammer, Erend stood up and charged the front entrance with a yell.

It was over in a matter of minutes. Between his hammer and Aloy's bow and spear, the bandits never stood a chance. Afterwards, as Erend cleaned his weapon and Aloy rooted around in some supply boxes, he brought the subject back up.

"Earlier, before we attacked, you seemed bothered. Was it something I said? Cause I have a big mouth and I say a lot of stupid things."

Aloy sat back on her heels. "Do you enjoy killing?"

He blinked. "Well . . . I mean, no, not really, but it has to be done. Someone comes at me or threatens someone else and I'll take him down, but no, it's not . . ." He trailed off, looking down at his bloodstained war hammer. "Sometimes the fight is enjoyable," he said quietly. "The adrenaline, the focus, the thrill of beating your opponent, but I . . . I wouldn't kill for sport or just for the hell of it." A hand on his shoulder startled him and Aloy sat down beside him, their hips touching.

"There was a man I met once," she said. "His name was Nil and he helped me clear out some bandit camps." Erend tamped down a flair of jealousy. "For him, it was a sport. He enjoyed killing them. The way he talked about it . . . it was like killing turned him on, excited him."

"I'm not like him, if that's what you're asking. I admit, I did enjoy all this, but only because I know what bandits do to innocent people. And because I got to be with you." She looked at him and he felt his cheeks go pink. "We should probably get moving right?" he said, standing and slinging his war hammer onto his back. "I don't know about you, but these camps give me the willies."

"Willies, huh."

"It's the spikes. And the weird machine corpse monuments."

Aloy shook her head with a smile. She stood and together they headed back to the road, leaving the bandit camp behind.

**Not what I had originally thought of for this prompt, but this is where it ended up.**


	3. Actually

**Actually**

Erend scowled down into his ale, trying not to think about Aloy. She was with the Nora delegation outside the city. More importantly, she was with that Nora Brave who had fought with them on the Spire. Varl, son of War Chief Sona. His scowl deepened. He'd seen how Varl looked at Aloy, knew they had known each other before all this mess with Hades. He also knew Varl would want her to go back to the Embrace. It was selfish expecting Aloy to stay in Meridian, but Erend had hoped . . .

He huffed and drained his glass.

"Do you always glare at your empty mugs or is this one special?" Aloy sat down opposite him, propping her elbows on the table.

"Thought you were with the Nora."

She raised an eyebrow at his bluntness. "I was, but they have an early start tomorrow and I wanted to find you."

"You aren't going with them?" She shook her head. "But . . . you're Nora. And Varl, he . . . I thought you two . . ." He was too drunk for this conversation.

"The Nora cast me out as a baby and Varl sees me as the Anointed. He's a good man and a good brave, but I'm not interested."

"Oh."

Aloy cocked her head with that little smirk he'd happily die for. "Actually, I thought I'd stay here for a while, help rebuild."

"Really?"

"I like it here." She looked into his eyes a little shyly. "I like the people."

Erend grinned, knowing he must look like a goofy idiot and not really caring. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Then it is definitely time you tried some Oseram brew." He waved to the bartender as Aloy laughed and shook her head. "You'll probably hate it at first, but it grows on you, I promise."

Aloy was looking at him with an expression that might have been fondness. "Seems about right." There was something unspoken under her words, but before Erend could puzzle it out, the bartender plunked two more mugs on the table. Aloy sniffed hers and took a sip.

"You drink this?" she spluttered and Erend just laughed. Laughed at the look on her face, at the fact that she was staying in Meridian, staying with him. Despite the hangover he knew he was going to have come morning, he thought he had never been happier in his whole life.


	4. Old Jeans

**Old Jeans**

The cabin was almost exactly how she remembered it. A little more dilapidated, a little more worn, but just as familiar as the day she left for the Proving. The training dummies still scattered the yard, a few upright still. The archery targets lined the mountain face, broken arrow shafts lying at their foot. She half expected Rost to come through the door, but he was buried just a little ways down the trail.

"So this was where you grew up, huh?" Erend stood beside her, looking around at everything.

"Yeah, this was home."

He righted one of the training dummies, his hand lingering over the scars left by arrowheads and spear points. "It's very . . . you," he said quietly and Aloy smiled despite herself. Bracing herself, she walked up the steps to the cabin and pushed open the door.

The interior was dusty, the corners garnished with cobwebs, but everything else was in its place. She ran a hand over the wooden table where she had Rost had eaten meals together. Her bed still rested in one corner, neatly made because Rost wouldn't stand for anything else.

"You okay?"

She nodded, smiling sadly at Erend. "I hadn't been in here since I left. It just . . . it was too raw and I couldn't . . ."

He reached for her hand, squeezing it gently. She hadn't expected company, but Erend had volunteered almost immediately and now she was grateful he was here. She led him around the cabin, talking about Rost and about her childhood.

At the foot of her bed rested the big oak chest Rost had made her. She knelt down and opened it. Inside were old machine trinkets from her early hunts, some round stones she had found in the river, and all her old clothes.

Erend chuckled as he pulled out a child's tunic. "I can't imagine you ever being this small. I bet you were a troublemaker."

"I was. According to Rost, I was curious about everything, no matter how dangerous."

"Well, nothing's changed there." He carefully folded the tunic, laying it back in the chest. "We should take some of this back. I mean, if you want. We don't have to, I just thought, you know, if we ever . . . "

She put her hand over his. "I'd like that," she said and smiled.

**Endings, ugh. When I thought of old jeans, I thought of old clothes and that led to this, in case you were wondering.**


	5. Greeting

**Greeting **\- a companion piece to Old Jeans: Write a story or poem that starts with the word "hello".

"Hi, Rost. You don't know me, but my name's Erend. Erend Vanguardsman. I met Aloy at that Proving thing and then again when she came to Meridian. Ersa - that's my sister - she had been murdered and I asked Aloy to help me find the guys responsible because she has that focus thing that lets her see what other people can't. I guess you probably knew that already. It's a long story, but she helped me find them and she stopped a plot to destroy Meridian and murder the Sun-King at the same time. All in a day's work for her, I guess.

"Anyway, I came because I . . . well, I love her. And I'd really like to ask her to marry me. Since you're the closest person she had to a father, I wanted to ask your blessing. I know I'm not Nora and I'm not even close to being worthy of her, but I'm trying to be. She's the best thing to happen to me. Helped kick my ass in gear. I don't know what I'd do without her.

"I wish I could have met you in person. I don't know that we would have gotten along really - Aloy doesn't think so and she's usually right - but still . . . You meant a lot to her and I would have liked to know you. Thanks for everything you did for her, raising her, teaching her, keeping her safe. I'm grateful.

"Well, that's about it, I suppose. Thank you again and . . . wish me luck, I guess."

**During the game, if you visit Rost's grave, Aloy will sit and talk to him. After writing Old Jeans, I really liked the idea of Erend doing the same. I feel like even asking Rost's permission is something Erend would do. When I saw the prompt Greeting, I was like "bingo!" I know I used "hi" instead of "hello" at the beginning, but Erend seems like a hi guy more than a hello guy.**


	6. Vegan

**Vegan**

"Have you seen the new camp outside the city?" Erend asked, reaching for another pork bun.

Aloy nodded. "I heard about it, but haven't met any of the people in it."

"A few representatives met with Avad this morning. They're staying for a few days to resupply before moving on. I guess they're wanting to start a village somewhere. But here's the interesting part." He paused for effect. "They don't use machine parts. For anything."

Aloy frowned. "Not at all?"

"Nope. Not for clothes, weapons, nothing. Something about the machines not being a natural part of the world or something, I didn't catch all of it."

"Huh." Aloy chewed thoughtfully on a piece of fruit.

"If they can make it work, power to them, I guess. Probably wouldn't be the weirdest thing people have done."

Aloy snorted. "Have I ever told you about Brin? Pretty sure he definitely qualifies as way weirder."

**So this was kind of a weird prompt, but I thought wouldn't it be interesting if there was a group who was vegan but in terms of machines and just rolled with that.**


	7. Jubilee

**Jubilee**

Aloy pushed through the crowds filling the marketplace. She had never seen so many people in one place. Eventually, she made it through, heading into the Vanguard barracks. Erend was sitting at his desk looking slightly overwhelmed, his mohawk sticking up like he had been running his hands through it.

"You look like you could use a break," said Aloy.

Erend blinked at her a moment and then grinned. "When did you get back?"

"A few hours ago." Erend nudged out another chair with his foot and Aloy sat down with a sigh. "What's with all the people? The market was packed."

"They're here for the celebration."

"Celebration?"

"The anniversary of the day we took over Meridian and put an end to Jiran's rule. Avad holds a celebration every year as a reminder of how far we've come."

"Avad celebrates the day he had to murder his own father?"

Erend shrugged. "Well, he tries not to focus on that too much. It's more about bringing the tribes together and everyone being welcome in Meridian and how we're stronger together, that kinda thing. I mostly enjoy it for the food and the drinking."

"I'm going to have to carry you home again, aren't I."

"That was one time. One."

Aloy shook her head with a smile. "You too busy to grab an early dinner? I'm starving."

"I would love to be distracted by food." He stood up, stretching. "I'm going cross eyed. Security for something like this is always crazy."

"Maybe after we eat, I can take a look?"

Erend looked at her fondly. "I'd appreciate both a second opinion and the company, especially yours." He offered her his elbow and she looped her arm through his as they headed out of the barracks and into the crowd.

"When is this celebration?" Aloy asked.

"Couple days. You gonna be around?"

She could hear the hope in his voice and smiled. "Yeah, I think I could stick around. Someone has to keep you in line after all."

Erend laughed and Aloy found she didn't mind the crowds so much when she was with him.


	8. Two Minutes

**Two Minutes**

She could tell Erend was nervous. He couldn't stand still, pacing a few steps this way and back, alternately crossing and uncrossing his arms like he wasn't quite sure what to do with them.

"Everything okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, everything's fine, why wouldn't everything be fine?"

She quirked an eyebrow at him. "Well, you look like a spooked grazer for one."

"Oh. That obvious, huh?"

"Obvious that something's on your mind. What is it?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "You remember that conversation we had on this balcony after Dervahl? Where you said you'd always have a minute for me?"

Aloy smiled. "Maybe even two."

"But what does that mean exactly? Is that a you're sweet as a friend kinda two minutes or I want to spar with you sometime kinda two minutes or I'd like a drinking buddy two minutes cause I'm a great drinking buddy - "

She grabbed his scarf and pulled him into a kiss. "It means I like you, idiot," she said, her tone light and fond. He stared at her, mouth slightly open, and she kissed him again. He tasted of Oseram ale, his mustache tickling her face. When she pulled away, he was grinning.

"She likes me," he said and kissed her back.

**Yes, there really was a prompt for Two Minutes. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it. Also inspired by this prompt found on Tumblr: "Erend asking her about what she meant with "I'll always have maybe two minutes for you", then Aloy resisting the urge to call him an idiot and admitting that she likes him." I don't have the original post link and for that I apologize.**


	9. Fries

**Fries**

"Alright, that's it," said Erend. He planted the end of his war hammer on the ground. "I'm taking you on a food tour of Meridian."

Aloy straightened out of her defensive crouch. "Because I've never had a cinnamon roll?"

"Or pie. Or potato wedges. And you've never heard of half the fruit I bring up."

"And this is a problem because . . . ?"

"Look, I'm just saying, if you're going to be staying in Meridian, you have to get the whole experience or you're missing out."

Aloy shrugged. "Alright, food tour it is. Sounds like fun."

One of the Vanguard who'd been watching them spar whistled and Erend glowered at him. "I see a lot of chit chat and not enough work," he bellowed. "Noon patrols, go, shoo."

With some grumbles, some winks, and a few comments of "Enjoy your lunch date, Cap," the Vanguard dispersed along their patrol routes.

Erend shook his head. "Idiots, all of them. Shall we?"

Together, they strolled through the city., heading down one of the little alleyways. Aloy recognized the general area, but had no idea where they were going until Erend stopped in front of a food stall. He held up two fingers to the Carja behind it and exchanged a few shards for two paper cones full of something long and golden brown. He handed one to Aloy.

"Fried potato wedges. They're addicting, I'm warning you now."

She took a bite of one and her eyes widened. "These are amazing."

Erend grinned. "Told you. The Carja definitely know their food, I'll give 'em that."

They wandered through the market, Erend pointing out the different fruits and their pie-making qualities while Aloy stole his fries when he wasn't looking.


	10. Minus 12

**Minus 12**

Erend didn't know why anyone would live in the Cut. He wasn't even entirely sure why he had agreed to come except that it was Aloy who had asked. Around him, the snow fell thick and fast, reducing everything to blinding white. Erend struggled to push through the tall drifts, some high as his knees. Despite the layers of fur under his armor, the wind seemed to cut straight through him and he was losing feeling in his hands and feet. Behind him, Aloy was doing little better, her hands tucked into her armpits and her head down.

At last, Erend caught sight of jagged rocks through the snow. He headed toward them, hoping for a cave, a crevice, anything to get them out of this wind. At last, he found what he was looking for, a small nook in the rocks. Tugging Aloy's arm to get her attention, he pointed to it and she nodded. It definitely wasn't much, barely big enough for both of them, but it did block the wind.

Erend sighed in relief. "It isn't great, but maybe we won't freeze to death."

Aloy hunkered down next to the rock, shivering. "No complaints here. Won't be able to keep a fire going though. Too much snow."

"You got a blanket?" He started undoing the buckles of his gambeson.

"What are you doing?"

"Taking off my armor."

"Why?"

"Because we'll be way more comfortable without it." He couldn't really feel his fingers, but he still managed to get his armor off, piling it neatly as he could. Aloy eyed him, blanket in her arms. Sitting close beside her, he opened his outer layer of clothing. "Come here."

Aloy hesitated, but shifted closer. He tucked her under his arm, pulling his fur lined outer tunic around her as best he could before burying them both under his and her blankets. Holding Aloy in his arms felt absolutely perfect. After a minute or two, she stopped shivering and relaxed a little against his side.

"See? This isn't so bad."

She hummed and he could hear the smile in her voice. "You're enjoying this too much."

"I've got a beautiful woman in my arms, what's not to enjoy?"

"Do you flirt like this with everyone?"

A witty response was on his tongue, but something, perhaps her closeness, made him swallow it. "Everyone isn't you." Like most of the dumb things he said, it sounded better in his head. He opened his mouth to cover it with a joke, an apology, anything, but Aloy spoke first.

"Thank you, Erend."

"For what?"

"For being here. It's been nice having company. Your company."

He hugged her a little closer. "Anytime."

They fell asleep like that, huddled in each other arms beneath the blankets, Aloy curled against his chest and Erend's cheek resting against her head.


	11. You Can't Be Here

**You can't be here**

When Erend finally caught up to Aloy, she was on a rise overlooking a sprawl of ruins, one hand on her focus.

"Aloy!" He waved to her and her eyes went wide. Sprinting down the slope, she pushed him towards some long grass.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded, ignoring his protests.

"Looking for you obviously. Stop shoving."

"Why are you - " Whatever she'd been about to ask was cut off by a long, low, mechanical howl. It was like nothing Erend had ever heard and he wished he'd never heard it to begin with.

"What was that?"

"You can't be here." There was genuine fear in her voice, a frantic edge he'd never heard from her before. "You need to go. Now."

"And leave you to face whatever the hell that was?"

"I can deal with it."

The howl came again, closer. Aloy changed tactics, heading toward the long grass herself and pulling Erend behind her. She crouched down, dragging Erend down with her. He was about to protest being manhandled when a machine topped the rise.

It was about the size of a Sawtooth, but much sleeker, moving more like a Stalker. The head was elongated, a single blue light shining from the center. A ridge of spiny antennae started on the crest of its neck and ran down along the spine. It was quiet too, the joints barely clanking as it prowled along the road. It stopped a few yards away and sat back on its hind legs like it was scenting the air. When it howled, the sound felt like it cut through Erend's bones.

Aloy shifted a little beside him and he realized she'd activated her focus.

"What is it?" he whispered.

"I don't know."

The machine shifted. It looked straight toward where they crouched and the light turned red.

"Shit, run!"

Erend didn't need to be told twice, diving to the side as the machine sprang. Rolling to his feet, he pulled his war hammer from his back and braced himself. The machine snarled as he swung the hammer against its side. A second later, an arrow hit one of its antenna with a mechanical pop.

"Erend, run!" Aloy shouted as the machine turned towards her.

"Not a chance."

Aloy rolled, came up to her knees, and fired two more arrows. Something sparked as metal pieces fell to the ground. Erend yelled as he swung his hammer, crumpling part of the machine's hind leg. It snarled, skittering away.

Aloy loosed another arrow. "I'm serious, Erend, go!"

"Like hell!" He was properly angry now and showed it by running straight at the machine. He ignored Aloy's exasperated swears, instead focusing on driving his hammer into any part of the machine he could reach. The machine staggered, hopped back a step, and leapt, but Erend dove to the side and charged again. Just before his hammer connected, the machine shifted and Erend realized too late that he was in trouble. As the hammer connected with its side, the machine swiped. Unable to shift momentum, Erend felt claws shred through the side of his gambeson like it was paper. Blood welled hot and slick. Despite the pain, he forced himself up, trying to put some distance between him and it.

"Erend!" Suddenly, Aloy was there with her spear, thrusting it into the joint of the machine's front leg and twisting. Even as it fell, the machine swiped, catching Aloy a glancing blow, sending her sprawling with a cry of pain.

Erend saw red. "Keep away from her!" he bellowed. Somehow, he got to his feet, pushing past the pain in his side and lifting his weapon. As the machine turned away from Aloy, Erend's hammer smashed against its skull, sending some metal plates flying. He reversed his swing and caught its skull again, the metal buckling. It staggered, damaged front leg crumpling beneath it. An arrow shattered its eye and with a crackle of sparks and metal, the machine fell, twitching spasmodically.

Erend let his hammer drop to the dirt as he turned. Aloy lowered her bow, eyes wide.

"You okay?" he asked and collapsed to his knees. The last thing he saw was Aloy limping towards him before everything went dark.

When he woke, he was lying on his side and Aloy was bending over him. Somehow, she had removed the bulk of his armor, leaving him in pants and a mostly whole shirt. He felt a sting on his side and realized she was stitching him up.

"You okay?" he asked, knowing he'd asked before but not remembering the answer.

"Don't move," she snapped. "I'm almost done."

"But are you okay? You went down."

"Just bruised." She tied off her thread. "I need you sitting up."

Erend nodded, pushing himself upright. His side burned like someone had lit his insides on fire, but it didn't hurt as much as he expected. Hintergold, probably. He caught a quick glance of three long gashes, neatly stitched, before Aloy covered them with a bandage, wrapping it around his torso.

"I told you to run," she said. "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking there was no way I was going to run off like a coward and leave you to fight that machine alone."

She tied off the bandage and sat back on her heels, glaring at him. "I could have handled it."

"You don't have to do everything alone. Why can't you just accept help every once in a while?"

"It killed six people, Erend. I didn't want you to get hurt." As soon as the words left her mouth, she knew it was the wrong thing to say.

He froze, jaw clenched. Staggering to his feet, he leaned closer, staring hard into her eyes. "Don't you ever leave me out because you don't want me getting hurt," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "Don't you dare."

"Erend, I . . ."

He picked up the remainder of his armor in one hand and his war hammer in the other, brow furrowed in anger and pain. "I'll see you back in the city," he said and started walking. Aloy let him go.

**So, originally, the idea I had for this was just this little scene of Aloy facing down some new machine and worrying about Erend's safety. Then it sort of morphed and ended up all angsty. Then it was going to have a different ending where Aloy and Erend made up, but I wrote that last line and kinda liked it. So here it is. The vague background I had in mind for this was that if new machines had showed up in the Cut (Frozen Wilds DLC), maybe new machines also showed up in the Claim and Aloy and Erend went there to check it out? Something like that. Maybe it'll turn into a larger story, who knows?**


	12. Gently

**Gently**

"Do you know why I keep coming back to Meridian?"

The question took him by surprise. "I don't know, supplies maybe? We have the best marketplace. Great for restocking and selling."

She was silent. He looked at her, curious, and her expression was one he hadn't seen before. At least, not on her. It was somber and serious, but underneath, lurking in her hazel eyes, was desire, smoldering like an ember.

"I come back because you're here," she said. Erend's eyes widened and he stared at her. She moved closer, tilting her face up to his in both an invitation and a challenge. He leaned down and kissed her gently. It was everything he had wished and more, that kiss. Every daydream, every fantasy of taking her in his arms, vanished, replaced by this single moment of perfect time.

When they parted, Erend could only stare into her eyes, dazed and breathless. "I love you," he said. "I've wanted to tell you that for so long now."

"Why didn't you?"

"I was afraid."

She ran a hand down his cheek. "So was I," she said.

Entwining her hand with his, she began to walk and he followed. She led him back to his house, pulling him inside. Once the door was shut, her hands found the straps and buckles of his armor, demanding. Piece by piece, his armor fell to the floor. His shirt soon joined it, Aloy's fingers digging into the hair on his chest, tracing a line down, down.

Erend took a shuddering breath. "You're wearing too many clothes," he said. Aloy smiled and slowly began shedding her own armor until she stood in only her tunic and leggings. She looked up at him, her hair a fiery cascade, her eyes alight, and Erend thought he had never seen anyone so beautiful.

"I've never done this before," Aloy whispered. "I've never been with anyone, not like this."

Erend kissed her. "If you want to stop, just tell me," he said. Gently, he lifted her in his arms, carrying her up the stairs and into his bedroom.

**This is as close to smut as I ever get, lol. I prefer leaving it up to the imagination.  
**


	13. Doubt

**Doubt**

"What's wrong, Erend? Please just talk to me."

"I'm scared, Aloy. I've never been so scared."

"Of what?"

"That I'm going to lose you. That I'm going to screw this up."

"You won't. I'm not going anywhere."

"You can't know that."

Aloy crouched down, taking his face in her hands. Her thumbs stroked his cheeks as she stared hard into his pale grey eyes.

"You are not your father," she said. "You're not, Erend. And you're not going to screw this up because I won't let you. Whatever happens, I am here and I am not going anywhere."

**This one was definitely inspired by one of the drawings of the amazing, amazing Godliath. If you have not seen this art and you are an Ereloy fan...you are missing out and you need to fix this right now. I can't do links, but Google "godliath studio" and it should pop up.  
**


	14. Die

**Die**

"I'm faster alone."

Erend expected to feel anger at those words. He expected frustration and hurt. He did not expect the resignation that came instead.

"Fine," he said and the cold, tired tone of his voice surprised even him. "You want to be alone, that's fine." _I love you_, whispered a voice in his head and he shoved it aside. He left her packing her bags and retreated into his room to do some packing of his own.

* * *

Erend was gone the next morning. Aloy looked at his empty room with regret and disappointment. She had been hoping to clear the air between them after last night. It was usually Erend who came to her after an argument, apologetic and sheepish with an offer of breakfast, but last night had been different. He had been different. Erend was nothing if not predictable. She had expected anger and hurt, but not resignation. She had expected him to at least see her off this morning, regardless of his displeasure. He always saw her off, always made it a point to catch her before she left, always said goodbye and wished her luck.

Aloy gathered her pack and headed outside, trying to ignore the twisting in her stomach.

* * *

"You're faster alone, I get it, I do. I'm slow and useless and a drunk and I make too much noise, but fire and spit, Aloy, I'm tired of being left behind!"

Abruptly, it hits her with all the force and subtly of a Thunderjaw and she wonders how she could have been so blind. Before she even realizes it, she's moving to stand in front of Erend, grabbing his hands to keep him still.

"I don't leave you behind because you're a useless drunk, Erend. And Ersa didn't either." He inhales sharply and she knows she has hit the true heart of the problem. Taking a deep breath, she squeezes his hands gently, trying to reassure both him and her. "I am faster alone," she begins, "but I'm also safer. Rost . . . he died for me in the Proving because I wanted answers and refused to stop until I found them. And then with Hades, there were so many lives lost, so many who fought because I asked them to." She looks into his gray eyes so full of pain and understanding. "I don't want you to die for me, Erend."

He looks down at their clasped hands, gently stroking his thumb along her knuckles. "My armor is heavy and bulky and loud," he says slowly, "but I wear it so I can take a hit and still get up and keep fighting." He looks at her, heartbreakingly sincere. "I would die for you in a heartbeat, if it came to that. But that's my choice."

"I'm not worth that sacrifice," she whispers. He takes her face in his hands, wiping the tears from her cheeks. Aloy tilts her head up, inviting, and he kisses her. She tastes of tears and her lips are soft against his.

"You're worth it to me," he says and kisses her again.

**These are three snippets of a story I will never finish. They are in order, but obviously there are gaps between them that I just didn't write because I didn't have a fully realized plot. Posting anyway because I like how they turned out and I think they stand well on their own. Also, the third snippet is in present tense. No idea why, it's just how it happened.**


	15. Keys

**Keys**

Erend handed Aloy her other pack, watching as she secured it to the Strider.

"Wish I could come with you," he said. "Overriding a cauldron seems more fun than dealing with these idiots."

Aloy grinned. "Maybe next time."

"I'll put it on my calendar." He shifted on his feet. "Before you go, I have something for you."

"Oh?" He held out his hand. Resting in his gloved palm was a key. Slowly, Aloy took it. "What's this for?"

"It's to the house. My house. You know, in case you get back and I'm not there."

Aloy stared at the key in her hand, throat tight. Erend was giving her his home, a place to belong whenever she chose to.

"You don't have to take it, if you don't want to," Erend said uncomfortably. "I just thought - "

She interrupted him with a hug. "Thank you, Erend," she said into his scarf.

He hugged her back. "Anytime." Pulling away, he smiled fondly. "Don't stay away too long."

"I'll be back before you know it." She mounted the Strider and kicked it into a trot. Looking back over her shoulder, she waved at Erend, warmth blossoming in her chest when he waved back. In her pack, the key nestled, safe, waiting for the day she came back home.


	16. Bulbs

**Bulbs**

"I hope this isn't dinner," Erend said, poking the odd-shaped, dirt-covered things lying on the kitchen table.

"They're flower bulbs," said Aloy.

"Flowers come in bulbs?"

"These do."

"Huh." He picked one up. "What're you doing with them?"

Aloy plunked a long ceramic box filled with dirt down on the table. Erend looked down at it and then back at Aloy.

"A windowbox?"

"Why not?"

He shrugged. "Alright. I'm warning you though, don't let me near it. Oseram do not have green thumbs."

**Some prompts are definitely easier to write than others. This was not one of them, but it turned out alright I suppose.**


	17. Ethereal

**Ethereal**

She stood silhouetted against the sun. In the morning breeze, her hair waved like a fiery banner red and orange and glowing. The light caught the edges of her bow and spear and for a moment, a beautiful shining moment, she was a warrior goddess, born from the mountain and taking her rightful place in the sun.

"Erend?"

He blinked and she was just Aloy again, no less a warrior, but an ordinary woman rather than some deity.

"You coming or are you gonna stand there all day?"

"Just admiring the scenery," he said and winked. She rolled her eyes - the exact reaction he'd been going for - and he grinned. Aloy was a lot of things, but ordinary would never be one of them. At least, not in his book.

**Sorry for another short one. Cheesy ending a bit, but hey. They are what they are, I guess.**


	18. At the Gate

**At the Gate**

Erend stared at the gate looming in the distance. On the other side of it was the Claim, the land of his tribe. Once it had been home, but now . . . He looked back at the cart being pulled by two other Vanguard, the cart holding the shrouded remains of Ersa. Now the Claim only served as a burial place. Years ago, he buried his childhood innocence and in a few days, he would bury his sister.

One of the Vanguard hollered a warning and Erend turned to see a Broadhead charging towards them. He reached for his hammer instinctively before seeing the person perched on its back. Even before he saw the red hair, he knew who it was. No one else he knew could tame machines.

Aloy slowed her mount to a walk, coming up beside him on the road.

"Didn't expect to see you again so soon," Erend said. "Not that I'm complaining."

"I was in the area and heard you'd come through. I can't stay long."

"Two minutes?"

She smiled and nodded. "You're taking Ersa back to the Claim?"

"Yeah." He sighed, looking at the gate. "I haven't been back since we joined up with Avad. Gotta be four, five years now."

"Do you have family there?"

"Some. Mostly it'll be other members of my clan there." He didn't want to think about his clan, though he knew he needed to. Didn't want to think about his drunken bully of a father, now buried beside his mother. He wanted a drink, wanted to drown his memories, but he'd made a promise and he intended to try and keep it.

"I'm sorry." Aloy's voice was quiet, her eyes distant with remembered grief of her own. "I wish I could come with you, but . . ."

Erend smiled up at her. "I know. Killers to track and machines to master."

"Something like that. Take care of yourself, Erend." He read the unspoken question in her words, the worry and concern hidden beneath.

"I will. See you around sometime?"

"Sounds good." She wheeled the Broadhead around and rode back toward Pitchcliff with only a brief wave of farewell.

Erend looked back at the gate. It still loomed over everything, but maybe not quite as intimidating. He waved the cart forward, leading the way along the dusty road.


	19. New You

**New You**

Erend caught a glimpse of red hair in his periphery. He turned and promptly forgot how to breathe. Aloy was wearing Oseram armor.

It was a simplified version of his own. Thick leather hide was stitched into a sleeveless tunic, accenting her curves and showing off her toned arms. Around her waist wrapped a leather belt, holding on a smaller version of the metal belly plate. Below that hung a multitude of pouches for supplies and odds and ends. She wore simple hide leggings over which flapped the long armored panels. Her hair was tied back with a cloth accented with metal rings and bracers wrapped her forearms.

Erend had been in love with her for months now, but seeing her in Oseram armor, in the garb of his tribe, awakened something in his chest that burned and ached with every breath.

"Uh, Erend?"

He realized his mouth was open and closed it with a snap. "Aloy, hi."

She eyed him. "You alright?"

"Fine. Just fine. You?"

"I'm good. You ready?" Erend nodded and they fell into step beside each other, armor jangling.

As they walked, Erend couldn't help but steal glances at her. Aloy made everything she wore look natural, like she was born to wear it, and Oseram armor was no exception. The way it moved with her, the way it sounded as she strode forward made his breath catch a little in his throat.

After a few minutes, Aloy blocked his path and turned to glare at him, arms crossed. "What's with you?"

Erend took a step back. "I, uh . . ."

"You've been weird since we left. Did I do something? Say something?"

"No, nothing like that."

"Then what? Why do you keep looking at me like that?"

Erend swallowed. "You . . . have new armor."

"What about it?"

"Well, it's Oseram."

"Is that bad? You're the one who's been telling me to try it."

"No, it's fine. I mean, you can wear whatever armor you want."

"Then what's wrong?"

Erend felt his face going red, no matter how much he tried to stop it. "I just . . . you . . . it, uh . . ." He took a deep breath. "It looks really good on you." Aloy stared at him. "Not that you don't look good in other armor, cause everything looks good when you wear it, but that looks . . . you look especially . . . good . . . in that." He closed his mouth and kept walking, face burning as he silently cursed himself. Stupid, stupid big-mouthed idiot. He might as well be carrying a banner proclaiming exactly how he felt.

He couldn't look at Aloy as she rejoined him. His face felt like it was on fire and he wished the ground would swallow him up right there or that a machine would attack or anything to distract them both from this entire thing.

Aloy bumped his arm with her shoulder. "I think you look good in your armor too," she said. He glanced at her uncertainly and, though she met his gaze evenly, her cheeks were flushed pink.

* * *

"Well, what do you think?"

Aloy turned around and forgot how to breathe. Erend was wearing Nora furs. The hide tunic was sleeveless, showing off his muscular arms and revealing the tattoos at his shoulders. Around his waist hung a layered belt with Nora blue and Oseram yellow accents. His pants were more fitted than his usual garb and the boots were soft, muffling his steps. Armguards, also accented with blue and yellow, gripped his forearms. Across his chest was the mount for his warhammer, fashioned from machine parts and leather. Topping it all off was his yellow scarf, draped as always around his neck.

"Teb made it for me," Erend was saying, oblivious to her stare. "Said I might appreciate something a bit lighter for climbing all these mountains." He finally looked at her, noting her wide-eyed gaze. "Well, you're either scandalized or turned on, I can't tell which."

Aloy blinked. "I . . . it's a good look on you."

"You think so?"

"I especially like the scarf."

"Well, I wanted to make sure you'd still recognize me."

She looked pointedly as his mohawk. "I don't think that would ever be a problem."

"What're you saying exactly?" he asked, his offended tone ruined by the smile in his eyes. Aloy grabbed his scarf and rose on her toes to kiss him.

"I'm saying I'd know you anywhere, Erend Vanguardsman."

He grinned. "Definitely turned on. I'll have to remember to thank Teb." Aloy smacked his arm and his grin only widened. "You want to help me take it off? I might need some assistance."

"We have a job to do, Erend." She looked him in the eye with a little smirk. "Maybe later."

He watched her walk out the door and nodded to himself. "Definitely gotta thank Teb."

**There are a ton of prompts and stories that address "Erend sees Aloy in Oseram armor" and a few that deal with "Aloy sees Erend in Nora armor" so I thought I'd contribute with two little semi-related drabbles.**


	20. Terrorist

**Terrorist**

It wasn't enough.

He was trying to pretend it was, telling himself that Dervahl was getting what he deserved, that the Oseram would execute him and it would be enough. It was a lie and he knew it. It wasn't enough. Not for him. Not for Ersa.

He remembered looking down at Dervahl, lying on the stones. He remembered the feel of the warhammer in his hands as he lifted it, as he prepared to take revenge for his sister, a life for a life. And then Avad had come in, strong and in control and expecting his orders to be obeyed and Erend had hesitated. It made him a good captain, according to Aloy. She was probably right - she usually was, it seemed - but he wasn't so sure it made him a good brother.

The mug on the table in front of him was empty. He wanted another one and another, to forget about all this for a while. Instead, he stood up and left the bar. He didn't like it, but it was the grownup thing to do and since he had failed to kill Ersa's murderer, he at least owed her this. It didn't feel like enough, but he supposed it had to be.

His house was too quiet. He stripped off his armor, arranging it neatly in its place by the door, and crawled into bed. When he finally slept, he dreamed of Ersa and of Dervahl's mocking voice and when he woke, his chest ached with every beat of his heart.

It wasn't enough.

He should have buried his hammer in Dervahl's worthless skull.


	21. Accordingly

**Accordingly**

Aloy was angry, that much he could tell. It burned in every line of her body, in every thrust of her spear as she took down another Scrapper. She'd been angry since they left Meridian, though Erend didn't think it had anything to do with him. He smacked a Scrapper upside the head with his hammer and Aloy thrust her spear through its chest.

"That's the last of them I think," he said tentatively. Aloy just nodded and set to work stripping the dead machines for parts.

Erend took a deep breath. "You okay?"

"Fine."

"You sure? Cause it seems like you have something on your mind."

"I don't want to talk about it, Erend."

"Fair enough." He moved to one of the other Scrappers. Though he wasn't as good at it as Aloy, he did know how to strip a machine. They worked in silence, Erend trying not to steal glances at Aloy, when she finally sighed and sat back on her heels.

"Avad proposed," she said and Erend's heart stopped. It shouldn't have surprised him, not really. Aloy was the Savior of Meridian, a capable huntress and a skilled fighter. She could tame machines and had an understanding of the Old Ones and the Metal World that was nearly unmatched. Add to that her beauty and why wouldn't Avad want her? He knew he should say something, but nothing made it past his closed throat.

"It's like he doesn't know me at all," Aloy was saying. "Expecting me to be happy locked in some palace wearing silks and listening to nobles complain day after day like it's some honor. I can't - I won't be caged like that. And I won't be some political pawn either."

Erend blinked. "Wait, you said no?"

"Of course I said no. I don't know why he expected my answer to be different this time, nothing has changed."

"This time?"

Aloy's expression shifted to one of reluctance and guilt. "He . . . he asked me once before. After we told him about Dervahl and Ersa."

Erend's hands clenched around the Scrapper heart he'd been stripping, ignoring the metal cutting into his hands. He hadn't known the exact nature of Ersa and Avad's relationship, but he knew there was more between them than just friendship.

"He was grieving, Erend. He wasn't thinking straight and I told him that."

"Not thinking straight, right. He finds out my sister is dead and immediately tries to replace her like she was nothing."

Aloy crouched beside him, pulling his hands away from the Scrapper. "He loved her very much. Grief . . . sometimes it makes people do strange things."

"Like propose to you? Twice?"

"Apparently." She sighed, gave his hand a light squeeze, and moved back to her pack.

Erend watched her, the way she moved as she confidently pulled out the valuable machine parts and stored them away. "So, not gonna be the new Sun Queen?"

"No."

"I'm glad," he said without thinking. She looked at him strangely and he rushed on. "Not that you wouldn't have been a good queen, you're good at everything you do, I just mean . . . well, you'd be busy and we wouldn't get to do stuff like this anymore, would we? I would have seen you around, sure, but it wouldn't have been the same."

Aloy smiled. "Exactly why I'd rather stay plain old me."

"I hate to break it to you, but I'd hardly call a woman who tames machines 'plain'. Crazy, maybe, a touch unusual and definitely a bit wild, but not plain."

"Crazy, huh?"

"Absolutely." He grinned and she just shook her head, moving on to another dead Scrapper. Erend wondered what she would say if he told her the truth - that he was smitten with her, head-over-heels hopelessly smitten, and he didn't know what he would have done if she had married Avad.

**Often, I turn to the dictionary to help with these prompts. "Accordingly" is defined as "consequently, therefore" and so arose this - a series of consequential reactions to one simple proposal. If it gets my brain going, I write it.**


	22. It's a Date

**It's a Date**

Erend was following her and Aloy didn't know whether to be exasperated, amused, or maybe a little of both.

At first, she hadn't thought much of it when she ran into Erend nearly everyday. After all, the man was Captain of the Vanguard and just as busy helping with rebuilding efforts in the wake of Hades as she was. It seemed natural that they would end up working in the same area of the city or had clean up jobs that overlapped. It was when he started to show up other places that she began to notice.

She would run into him in the mornings when she grabbed breakfast or in the afternoons on her free days when she wandered the market. He would turn up where she had chosen to eat dinner, even when it was a different place each night. When she used the training yard, he would be there to spar and run drills with his Vanguard. When she took a break for lunch, he would ask to join her. Wherever she was, she could be sure to at least see him even if only for a few minutes. Each time, he acted like it had been happy chance that he ran into her though she knew it couldn't have been.

It was after a long late night of pondering that she decided to finally confront him. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy seeing him - she liked Erend and liked spending time with him - but she wanted, needed, to know his motives.

The following day, she wandered the market as she often did and waited. It didn't take long before she heard Erend's cheerful greeting.

"Morning, Aloy."

She grinned. "Erend, just the man I wanted to see."

He raised his eyebrows. "I'm flattered. What can I do for you?" She gestured for him to follow her and led them out of the market to one of the many balconies near the elevator.

"We need to talk," she said.

"Well that's never good." He sobered. "What's on your mind?"

"You keep following me."

Erend blinked. "Come again?"

"Wherever I go in Meridian, you always seem to turn up. You're passing through the market at the same time as me or you decided to get dinner at the same place I am or you happened to be hauling scrap right where I'm stripping machines."

"Coincidence?" Erend offered in a tone that said he knew she wouldn't believe it but had to try anyway. She crossed her arms. His cheeks flushed pink at her look and rubbed a hand over his strip of hair and down his neck. "Yeah, I didn't think you'd buy that."

He sighed heavily, shifting on his feet, and Aloy realized he was nervous. "I . . . well, the truth is that I . . . like you. A lot. And I like spending time with you."

"And you couldn't just ask?" He turned even redder and she laughed. "Erend Vanguardsman, you are a mess."

He shrugged. "Can't deny that, I guess. I'll stop, if you want, I didn't mean to - "

"You don't have to."

"No, I don't want you to feel - "

"I don't." He looked at her, nervous and hopeful, and she smiled. "I like you too, Erend."

"Yeah?"

"I do. For an Oseram, you're not so bad."

He laughed. "High praise from the Savior of Meridian. Careful, it might go to my head."

"Well, we can't have that." She gestured back toward the market. "I have a few errands to run this morning and afternoon, but . . . join me for dinner?"

"I'd love to."

"That little Carja cafe? By the barracks?"

"It's a date." He looked ridiculously pleased and Aloy couldn't help shaking her head at him. She turned to head back into the market when a thought occurred to her.

"How did you always know where I was?" she asked.

Erend shuffled a little in place. "The guards told me. Or the Vanguard. They, uh . . . well, they're really bad at minding their own business."

"I've noticed." She shook her head again. "I'll see you tonight, Erend."

"Looking forward to it."

As Aloy rejoined the crowds in the market, she realized she was looking forward to it too.


	23. Pygmy

**Pygmy**

**(pygmy) [ usu. with adj. ] an insignificant person, esp. one who is deficient in a particular respect: he regarded them as intellectual pygmies.**

"Are you in love with me?"

Erend felt a rush of cold down his spine and his cheeks began to burn. "What? No, that's . . . Where did you hear that?"

"The truth, Erend. No more evasion, no more jokes. Are you?"

No more playing around. He took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes."

Her sternness vanished, emotions flickering across her face - fear, hope, surprise - before being replaced by something he couldn't quite place.

"How long?" she asked.

"Since the day you stopped Dervahl. I mean, the attraction was already there, but that's when I realized how far gone I really was."

She stared at him. "When were you planning to tell me?"

"I . . . I wasn't."

"Why not?"

"Are you kidding? Do you even have to ask?" Aloy crossed her arms, waiting, and Erend began to pace. "You're the Savior of Meridian, the Anointed of the Nora. You . . . you can track killers and tame machines and you've done so much for so many people and . . ." He rubbed a hand over his mohawk and down his neck. "You are the most strong, amazing, beautiful, capable woman I've ever met and I'm . . . "

"You're what, Erend?"

He sighed. "I meant what I said, Aloy, I'm not even worth a minute of your time. Besides, I know you don't feel the same way about me and I know you don't want to be tied down, to me or anyone."

Aloy was quiet. "Well," she said finally, "I'm glad you know so much about what I want. Saves me having to make any choices for myself." Her voice was low and bitter, trembling at the edges.

"Aloy, I - "

"Don't." Her eyes met his and he blinked, taken aback by the anger he saw there. "If you want to keep thinking you're just some useless drunk who's not good enough for me, fine. I don't see the point in arguing with you about it and you seem to have made up your mind for both of us." She turned on her heel and walked out, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

Erend looked up at the Spire, towering over everything. He hadn't been back here since Hades, but it was the last place he could think of to look for Aloy. Taking a deep breath, he started up the slope. It was much different when he wasn't fighting off machines and Shadow Carja. It left him time to think. He'd been doing a lot of that the past few hours.

He reached the top and was rewarded by the sight of familiar red hair. Aloy was sitting where they had achieved victory, staring out towards the city. He hesitated and then slowly moved to sit beside her.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I thought I was protecting you by not telling you, but I've been doing a lot of thinking and I realize now that I was really just protecting myself. You're friendship is important to me and I didn't want to ruin what we had. I just . . . I didn't think you . . . I'm sorry, Aloy."

Silence fell between them, heavy and stifling. Erend was about to stand up and leave her alone when Aloy finally spoke.

"You think you're somehow insignificant next to me, but you're not. I never wanted to be put on a pedestal, especially not by you. And you have me on the highest one of all." She took a shuddering breath and he was dismayed to see tears in her eyes. "Do you know why I was outcast? Because I didn't have a mother. I wasn't born, I was made. By a machine. I'm just a copy of someone who lived a long time ago." She finally looked at him, eyes red, cheeks stained with tears. "Everything with Hades, it was because I'm her. That's the only reason I was able to stop it."

He reached out and took her hand. "You're not her. All the things you've done, the skills you have, the friends you've made, those are all you. I didn't fall in love with her, I fell in love with you, Aloy."

"Then stop selling yourself short, Erend. Stop making me out to be some sort of goddess when I'm not."

"If I don't know how?"

"Learn."

It was something Ersa would have said, blunt and to the point, and Erend couldn't help it. He laughed. "I can try," he said and Aloy squeezed his hand.

"I just want to be me," she said. "I just want to belong somewhere."

"I . . . I'd like for you to belong here. With me. If you want. I'd like that more than anything."

She twisted, putting her arms around his neck in a sideways hug. "Me too." He hugged her back, enjoying the feel of her in his arms.

"I really am sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to push you away or hurt you. I can't promise not to put you on a pedestal, but I hope you'll kick my ass if I do."

She laughed a little wetly. "It's a deal."

When she pulled away, he kissed her lightly. "Come home with me? I have pie."

Her fingers brushed through his mohawk. "Bribery, Captain?"

"Hey, if it works . . ."

They stood - Aloy gracefully, Erend less so - and walked hand and hand down from the Spire and towards home.

**Some prompts are very interesting. The dictionary is definitely my friend, lol.**


	24. Straws

**Straws**

"Something's got to be done," said Tus.

There was a murmur of agreement from his fellow Vanguard. They all sat around a back table at the Oseram bar nearest the barracks. To anyone else, it would have looked like they were having their usual after-hours drink, but tonight there was less drinking and more chit-chat.

"It must have been an argument," said Alvar. "He's avoiding her and she's avoiding him."

Bash shrugged. "So, what, we stage an intervention? Lock 'em in a room or something?"

"We don't actually know what happened," Jaida pointed out, gesturing with her glass. "We need intel."

Tus nodded. "One of us needs to talk to the Cap. See what's going on."

"Arm wrestle," said Bash. "Loser has to do it."

Lief smacked his arm. "But you always win."

"Exactly."

Tus held up his hand. "We draw for it. Jaida?"

"On it."

She grabbed a handful of wooden stir sticks from the bar and snapped one in half. Holding them in her fist, she held it out to each member of the Vanguard. One by one, they pulled out a stick.

Alvar sighed, holding up the shorter one he had drawn. "I'll catch him tomorrow, see what I can do. Wish me luck." He downed the rest of his ale to a chorus of well wishes, good lucks, and a few relieved sighs.

**I like the Vanguard, can you tell? Sort of a related scene to "Pygmy." The characters are mine since they don't get names in the game so far as I know.**


	25. Month of May

**Just as a warning, this prompt deals with implied child abuse.**

* * *

**Month of May**

_In the Month of May_

_Your past began to bust open its graves_

_In the Month of May_

* * *

_The bottle shattered against the wall, sending glass shards flying. An angry voice, commanding and so, so loud._

_"Lazy, useless boy!"_

_Apologies falling on deaf ears. A raised hand. His sister's scream._

"Erend?"

He blinked and it was gone. He sat in the bar, panting and trembling. By one of the other tables, the barkeep was sweeping up broken glass. An accident caused by drunken sloppiness, nothing more.

"Are you okay?" Aloy was looking at him, brow furrowed in worry.

"I'm fine," he said automatically. "Sorry. What were you saying?"

She gave him a hard look, but didn't push it, instead repeating her question. The night moved on.

A week went by and he had just begun to relax when it happened again. He was doing some paperwork while Aloy tinkered with something at her workbench in the corner. Something popped with a crackle of electric sparks. Aloy leapt up with an angry, frustrated curse, sucking her fingers, and the machine part fell to the floor with a huge crash.

_"Clumsy, useless boy!"_

_"I didn't mean to, I'm sorry!"_

_"Sorry? Sorry doesn't cut it!"_

"Erend? Erend!"

He sucked in a breath he didn't know he needed. Aloy was leaning over his desk, her own eyes wide and scared. He didn't remember her getting there.

"I'm fine," he said. "Just startled me that's all."

Her jaw tightened. "You're not fine. That's the second time you've done that. Where do you go?"

"Nowhere, I'm right here."

"Erend - "

"I said, I'm fine. Just leave it." His tone was sharper than he intended and Aloy straightened.

"Fine," she said. Turning, she stalked upstairs and he heard the bedroom door close.

He spent the next few days drinking more than he should and avoiding any sort of serious conversation about what was going on. It wasn't until he stumbled home one evening to find Aloy waiting up for him that he knew he'd been deluding himself if he thought he could avoid this forever. She watched him struggling to take off his armor a moment before sighing and getting up to help him.

"This needs to stop," she said quietly. "You're not going to make things better by drinking yourself to death."

"I might," he answered. "You never know."

"Well, if you are, at least give me some warning. I'd rather not watch." She might have been teasing, but Erend wasn't drunk enough to miss the way her voice trembled at the end.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"I know, but sorry doesn't always cut it, Erend. You have to want to change or it doesn't mean anything."

_Sorry doesn't cut it! Useless boy!_

He shook the words away. "I'm tired. You coming to bed?"

Aloy crossed her arms with a huff of frustration. "Why won't you just talk to me?"

"Why won't you just drop it?"

"Because I'm worried about you. Something happens and it's like you're not there."

"You wouldn't understand."

"Why not?"

"You just wouldn't, alright? Drop it!" He tried to push past her, but she grabbed his arm.

"I won't let you walk away from me, Erend, not now!"

_Don't you walk away from me, boy!_

"I don't want to talk about it, Aloy!"

_Don't talk to me that way, who do you think you are?_

He pulled his arm away, but she just moved to stand in front of him.

_Ersa standing, pushing in front of him, protective and angry._

"Out of my way," he said.

_You're in my way, girl, move!_

"Not until you talk to me!"

_Ersa defiant and proud, refusing to back down. A hand raised. The slap of flesh against flesh._

"I said drop it!" Without thinking, he shoved Aloy aside. Caught by surprise, she staggered back and nearly fell, catching herself against the wall. Erend froze. For a moment, they just stared at each other.

Erend took a step. "Aloy, I . . . I'm sorry, I didn't mean to - "

"You're not fine," she said. "You can tell yourself that all you want, you can drink until you believe it, but you're not."

For several minutes after she left, he just stood there, staring at the door. Eventually, his legs refused to hold him up anymore and he sat down on the steps. Time crawled by. He slept at some point, waking to find himself slumped against the wall. Aloy was still gone. He made himself drink a glass of water, forced his heavy body up the stairs and into his bed, empty and cold without Aloy.

He dozed fitfully, caught in dreams of anger and shouting, and when he finally woke again a little after dawn, Aloy was sitting on the side of the bed.

"You came back," he said.

"Yes."

"Why?"

She sighed softly. "Because I love you. And I can't just walk away."

He sat up, leaning against the headboard. "I'm sorry."

"I know."

"Did I . . ."

"I'm fine. You didn't hurt me."

But he had. He could see it in her eyes. She moved to sit beside him, resting her head against his shoulder. He took a deep breath.

"My father was head of my clan," he said quietly. "He was a drunk and a bully and he . . . sometimes, he'd come home and . . . I was a clumsy kid, too big, you know? Couldn't quite get the hang of how much space I filled up. I was always bumping into things, knocking things over. My father, he'd get so angry when he'd been drinking. He didn't use to be that way. Mom . . . she died when I was little and he was different after that. Ersa tried to protect me, but it didn't always work."

Aloy slipped her hand into his, a silent reassurance that he wasn't alone.

"I thought I'd gotten over this already," he admitted. "He died years ago, while Ersa and I were freebooting, and it was rough for a bit, but I thought that would be the end of it. And then that glass broke in the bar and the machine parts here and suddenly I'm back and he's . . ."

Aloy squeezed his hand. "How did you get through it before?"

"Ersa. She . . . she kept me busy, kept me grounded."

She hummed thoughtfully. "Then we should spar today. You can get angry and let off some steam. Plus I heard about some Glinthawks causing trouble. I was going to go alone, but I'd rather go with you."

Erend shifted so he could look at her, not sure what to say. In her eyes, he read compassion and understanding, but the pity or contempt he'd feared to see was absent. She kissed him lightly.

"Whatever you need, I'm here," she said.

"I don't deserve you."

"Nope." She smiled and snuggled back against his side. Erend held her close, running his fingers through her hair. This time when he slept, he didn't dream.

**So this went a completely different direction than I originally thought. The verse at the beginning is from a song called "Ropes" by Emily Barker and the Red Clay Halos (they're a great group, look them up). When this prompt came up, this song continually popped into my head and I rolled with it. I considered using the whole song, but it's a bit of a downer and I wanted a happier ending for Erend and Aloy.**


	26. Spaghetti

**Spaghetti**

"How do you eat this?"

Erend laughed. "Okay, you take your fork and you kinda twirl it, like this." He demonstrated while Aloy watched. "Then you just eat it. Or you could cut it smaller, if you want to be boring "

"Well, we can't have that." She copied his movements, twirling the long noodles onto her fork.

"See? Not so bad when you get the hang of it."

"It's delicious. You're not a bad cook."

"Thanks, I try."

"I'm serious, Erend. This is really nice."

He grinned, inordinately pleased with himself.


	27. The Net

**The Net**

Erend stared at Aloy, trying to come up with something, anything, that would explain the Oseram woman with her arms wrapped around his neck.

"It isn't what it looks like," he said.

"Really? Cause it looks like you were kissing."

"We weren't. I mean, she was, but I didn't - "

Aloy just sighed. "Enjoy your evening," she said and turned to leave.

"No, wait, it isn't like that." He struggled to extricate himself from the women's arms, eventually managing to plop her onto a bench where she sat, pouting. Erend ignored her, instead running after Aloy.

"Can we please just talk about this?"

"It's fine, Erend."

"She was drunk, it wasn't like you think. Will you slow down a minute?"

"I said it was fine. You can be with whoever you want."

"Fire and spit, Aloy, I don't want to be with anyone other than you. She came onto me, I swear." Frustrated, he managed to block her path forward and she sighed, crossing her arms. "She'd been flirting with me all night and when I got up to leave, she wouldn't let me."

"Right, the big, strong Captain of the Vanguard waylaid by a drunk woman against his will."

"I didn't want to hurt her. Besides, she took me by surprise." Aloy looked at him and he was caught by the expression in her eyes, the vulnerability and hurt. "It wasn't how it looked," he said gently. "Steel to my bones, Aloy, it wasn't."

"I thought . . . she was Oseram and I thought maybe you . . . maybe I wasn't . . ."

He threw caution to the winds and grabbed both her hands. "I don't care that you're not Oseram. You're Aloy. That's more than enough."

She huffed out a little laugh. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be weird and jealous."

"It's kinda flattering actually. I've never had anyone be jealous over me before." He tugged on her hands. "Walk you home?"

They meandered hand and hand through the streets, enjoying the cool evening air and quiet stillness. Erend tried to picture himself with the Oseram woman from the bar and couldn't do it. It was only ever Aloy.

**My original idea involved an AU where Erend was a fisherman and Aloy was a mermaid, but it just didn't quite pan out, lol.**


	28. Die Trying

**Die Trying**

"Alright, we're either gonna win this or die trying. You with me?"

One of the Vanguard raised his hand. "Isn't death a bit extreme?"

Erend sighed. "Let's move, idiots." He led the way forward toward their objective. It was a small plateau, open except for a few bushes. On either side rose much taller cliffs topped with trees and brush. Planted in the center of the plateau was a flag, waving slightly in the breeze. otherwise, everything was still and deserted.

The Vanguard moved forward as Erend had ordered, breaking off into smaller groups as they moved toward the plateau. They paused a moment, waiting, and Erend gave the signal. One of the groups - Alvar, Lief, and Galen - stormed the plateau, one heading for the flag while the other two backed him up.

There was no warning. One minute Lief was about to grab the flag, the next a red-head Nora Warmaid had appeared as if from nowhere, knocking him flat. Not from nowhere, Erend realized, she'd been waiting on top of one of the cliffs. Alvar and Galen moved to attack, but she easily dodged. Jaida, Bash, and Tus joined the fight from a different direction, trying to both keep their opponent occupied and grab the flag. For a brief moment, Jaida managed to seize the flag. It didn't last long.

Aloy looked around at the fallen Vanguard and grinned at Erend, raising the flag high.

Erend grinned back. "Congrats, you're all dead," he said. "Still, not a bad effort." There was a chorus of groans.

"It's like fighting a ghost," Lief said, lying flat on his back.

"A flame-headed ghost," added Bash. "You should come out for a drink sometime."

Aloy shrugged. "Maybe I will."

The Vanguard headed off back towards Meridian in a mostly orderly fashion, still complaining, and Erend just shook his head.

"Idiots," he said fondly. "All of them. Thanks for doing this."

"It was fun," said Aloy. "And not a bad workout. They're good fighters."

"I'll pass on the compliment." He reached for the flag, but she stepped out of reach.

"If you want it, come and get it," she said coyly. Erend grinned. He lunged for her and she danced away, laughing. They chased each other like children until at last Erend managed to grab Aloy, both of them tumbling into the grass. He straddled her hips and pinned her down.

"Gotcha," he said and kissed her.

She smiled against his lips. "Looks like you win, Captain."

"Do I get a prize?"

"Take me home and find out."

He grinned and kissed her again before letting her up. "I love you, have I ever said?"

"Once or twice."

"Oh is that all?"

She shook her head. "You'd better get back before the Vanguard send a search party."

"It's not like they won't know what's keeping me. In fact, they probably have a betting pool going on how long it takes me to turn up."

"Let me know who wins." Aloy whisted and a Strider came running. "I'll see you tonight."

"You better. I have a prize to claim."

She kissed him one last time and mounted her machine. Erend waved as she rode off and started the trek back to the city, flag held in one hand.


	29. Poem

**Poem**

Erend wasn't much for poetry. He liked how some of it sounded, but otherwise it just wasn't his thing. It was too flowery, too delicate, too Carja. It wasn't until he and Aloy were ambushed at the Dimmed Bones ruin that he finally understood what poetry was.

Poetry was the way Aloy moved. Not just the way she walked, confident and assured, or the way her hips swayed with every step. It was the way she rolled out of the way of an arrow, coming smoothly to her feet again. It was the way she drew her bow, releasing arrow after arrow, each one finding its mark. It was the way she swung her spear, leaping up and bringing it down in a gorgeous arc. It was the way she stood when the last Ravager fell, sparking and dead. When she looked over at him to make sure he was okay, there was poetry in the way her hair settled around her shoulders.

Erend wasn't much for poetry, but Aloy made him wish he knew how to write into words what he saw and how it made him feel.


	30. Frida Kahlo

**Frida Kahlo**

a Mexican painter known for her portraits and self-portraits

* * *

Song's Edge was much as Aloy had left it. The Banuck nodded to her as she passed, though they eyed Erend with a little more suspicion. He either didn't notice or didn't care, instead concentrating on keeping his footing on the snowy rock.

"There are Strider herds not too far from here," Aloy said. "I can get us some new mounts."

She expected a protest - Erend still wasn't comfortable riding machines and was typically vocal about it - but when none came, she turned to see what had got his attention. He had stopped, staring up at the mountain and the mural adorning its side.

"It's you," said Erend.

"Well, it's a woman who looks like me, yes. Sekuli painted it last time I was here."

"It's definitely you. No one has hair like that. And she's riding a machine." He glanced at her. "Guess you made an impression, not that I'm surprised."

"Guess so." She watched him study the painting, eyes lingering on the fiery-haired figure.

"It's beautiful," he said finally, his voice quiet. There was a hint of sadness in his tone, but when he looked back at Aloy he was smiling. "You said something about Striders?"

"There should be a herd nearby." He pulled a face and she shook her head, smiling. "They'll be - "

"Faster, yeah, yeah, I know." He sighed. "Lead on."

Aloy did, pretending not to notice how often Erend glanced back at the mural, a somber, thoughtful expression in his eyes.

Erend was still quiet and distant when they set up camp for the night, taking shelter in one of the many ruined buildings scattered throughout the Cut. Aloy watched him staring into the fire and moved to sit beside him, their arms touching.

"You're quiet," she said.

He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Just tired I guess."

"You've been quiet since you saw that mural."

"You don't miss much, do you?"

"What's on your mind?"

Erend looked at his hands. "Why am I here?" he asked. "I mean, fire and spit, these people painted a mural of you. And I heard the whispers in Song's Edge, what you did or at least pieces of it. Why are you hanging around with me?"

It was typical Erend really and Aloy felt a wave of both fondness and sorrow.

"I promised I'd always have two minutes for you," she said. Erend's brow furrowed and Aloy resisted the urge to sigh. "I asked you to come because you're my friend. I trust you."

"Yeah?"

She bumped her shoulder against his. "Maybe if I ask nicely, Sekuli will paint you."

Erend snorted. "Somehow I don't think I would look as nice as you on the side of a mountain."

"You never know."

He reached over and squeezed her hand briefly. "Well, I'm turning in. Need all my beauty sleep if I'm going to be riding that machine again tomorrow."

"Yes, you do." She laughed at his offended expression, glad to see him in a better mood. "Sleep well, Erend."

"And you, Aloy."


	31. Back Ache

**Back Ache**

Aloy came down the stairs and slid gingerly into a chair.

Erend propped his elbows on the table and eyed her ruefully. "Sore?"

"I feel like I've been trampled."

"I can relate. Here, turn a bit." Aloy turned so she was sitting sideways and Erend tentatively began massaging her shoulders. "Let me know if I go too hard."

"That feels wonderful."

He grinned and worked his way down to the small of her back and the knotted muscles he could feel there. Aloy made a noise that Erend wished she was making under different circumstances. He also wished there was less clothing between his hands and her skin.

After a few minutes, he reluctantly stopped, his fingers protesting the work. "Better?"

"Very." She looked over her shoulder at him, face only inches away. "Thank you."

He flushed, running a hand over his mohawk and down his neck. "Hey no problem. Ask me anytime."


	32. Triumph

**Triumph**

She whirled to face him, bow ready, and he raised his hands, unable to stop the disbelieving smile creeping across his face. Her bow lowered and he reached out, clapping her on the shoulder. He wanted to do so much more, wanted to gather her into his arms, to never let go, to see if her lips were as soft and tender as he'd imagined them to be. The words were in his throat - I love you, Aloy, marry me - but he held them back. She was not his to claim.

She raised her bow high over her head, a signal to those watching in Meridian that they had triumphed. Hades was dead and they'd won. Erend lifted his hammer, joining Aloy in celebration. She was not his, but she had only to ask and he would be hers for as many minutes as she allowed.


	33. Augmented

**Augmented**

Made greater, larger, or more complete

* * *

Erend looked around the room at the purple and blue grid created by the focus, his mouth open.

"Huh," he said. "This is . . ."

He could feel Aloy smirking. "Wow, Erend Vanguardsman speechless. I should have showed you this months ago."

She was only a purple outline with the focus on, but even so, he would have recognized her immediately. The way she stood, the way she held herself, was all uniquely Aloy. He tapped the device like she'd showed him. The matrix faded like it had never been, reality - his reality anyway - restored.

"I guess you must be used to it by now," he said, handing the focus back to Aloy.

She shrugged. "I suppose I am. I've had it for a long time. I can try to find you one, if you want."

"Nah. I mean, I appreciate the thought, but I'm good. Looks better on you anyway. I'd just look weird."

He didn't mention how he preferred seeing the world as it was now. As useful as he knew the focus was, he just couldn't see himself living in a machine world of glowing purples and blues and he liked Aloy better in hues of red and brown than as a purple outline.

A brief prickle of deja vu made him grin.

_"Just a weird old jewel he sticks on his face. Uh, no offense. Looks great on you."_

He'd been so awkward, trying to flirt with this beautiful redhead who didn't even notice. He wouldn't have even met her except for Olin and his focus.

Aloy quirked an eyebrow in a silent question and he realized he'd been staring at her, still smiling slightly.

"Sorry, just thinking," he said. Aloy gave him an odd look, but didn't push it. He watched her slip the focus back on and tried not to think about how different his own reality would be without her in it.

**Still here. Still writing, albeit slowly. Too many other projects, so little time. A little cheesy, but hey.**


	34. At the Bar

**At the Bar**

Erend knew he should walk away, but the need for a drink, to forget for just a little while, was overwhelming. His usual table was empty, beckoning. He sat down and ordered a drink, trying to suppress his guilt and shame.

He purposely didn't count how many he had, simply letting the bartender place another one at his table and another and another. He drank until he felt the familiar buzz in his fingers and toes, until the world became a little out of focus.

A flash of red hair, unmistakable even in this state. For a brief moment, he allowed himself to hope maybe she wouldn't see him, but as the thought crossed his mind, her eyes met his. The look of abject disappointment on her face as she looked at him was like a spear to the gut.

"How many have you had?"

"Not enough."

"Seems to me like you've had plenty." Her tone should have been a warning, the kind that sent rational men to cover, but Erend was too drunk to care. He reached for his mug. Aloy put her hand over it, pushing it back down and sloshing liquid over the sides.

"I said, you've had plenty."

Erend tugged on his drink, frowning. "Let go." When Aloy didn't move, he stared her down. "Let go or I'll make you." She held his gaze for a long moment. He doubted she was intimidated by him, but she did let go, watching as he downed half the mug. He knew he should be ashamed. It crawled up his spine like mud. Instead, he took another drink.

Aloy planted both hands on the table, leaning over and keeping her voice low. "You need to stop this. Ersa wouldn't want - "

"How the hell would you know what Ersa would want?" Erend demanded. "You never even knew her. You got there just in time to see her die, even with your fancy focus and holier-than-thou attitude, so don't tell me what she would have wanted."

Aloy was quiet a moment. "You're right, Erend," she said, voice carefully neutral, "I didn't know her." She straightened up. For a moment, he thought maybe she was going to haul him off the bench and hand his ass to him right there, but instead she simply turned and walked away.

Erend watched her go. He thought about following her, about trying to make this right. Instead, he signaled the barmaid and ordered another round.

He woke the next morning, bleary eyed and with a mouth dry as dust. He forced himself to sit up, noting that he was on the couch instead of his bed. Blearily, he scrubbed a hand over his face. He didn't even remember getting home last night. Shame settled heavily into his stomach at what he did remember.

Gingerly, mindful of his splitting skull, he stood up to find some water and realized Aloy's bow and spear were missing from their usual corner. With a sudden sick feeling, he went to her room. The door was open and the room was empty. Her pack, clothes, everything, gone like she had never been.

Erend dressed as hurriedly as he could, cursing himself and his stupidity and his drinking. He knew he probably looked terrible as he hurried through the streets, but he didn't care. The guards at the gate merely blinked as he came barreling up.

"I'm looking for Aloy," he said, trying and failing not to sound as out of breath and panicked as he felt.

"She left this morning," one of the guards answered. "Just after dawn."

"Looked like she was planning to be gone for a while," the second guard chimed in.

"Did she say where she was going or how long she'd be gone?" Erend asked.

"Sorry, Captain."

Erend's throat seemed suddenly dry and withered so he just nodded and took his leave, feet taking him back to his house. It was empty and silent with Aloy gone, oppressively so, but he didn't know where else to go except back to the tavern. The thought of drinking further twisted the sick knotted weight in his gut. Unable to have the will or energy to do anything else, he just sat on the couch. After a while, he fell back asleep, the memory of Aloy's disappointed face following him into dreams.

She was gone for nearly three months.

When she did come back, it was a full day and a half before Erend saw her in person. Between the Carja Garrison and his own Vanguard, Erend was always informed when she returned, usually with knowing looks exchanged behind his back. This time, she seemed to be actively avoiding him, always gone by the time he got to where she'd been seen. Finally, though, he caught up with her in the market, trading machine parts for shards and potions.

"Aloy, you're back."

She looked at him, a wary expression in her eyes. "Erend," she replied and her voice was even, lacking any of the warmth that usually accompanied his name. His stomach sank.

"You staying long?" he asked, forcing his voice to stay upbeat and casual.

"Just passing through. Needed to resupply."

Erend's stomach sank even further. "Well, can I at least interest you in dinner?" She hesitated and he pushed on, knowing her refusal would be the final blow that undid him. "Please, as an apology for . . . for last time."

She finally nodded. "Let me finish up in the market and I'll meet you."

"Great." He watched her disappear back into the crowd and sighed, forcing himself to turn away. He had Vanguard business of his own to finish up, but he still arrived at the small Oseram tavern before Aloy and secured a table in the corner, well away from the bar. This was where they had almost always eaten dinner in the past when Erend didn't cook it himself. He had just ordered stew and spiced tea when Aloy sat down opposite him.

"Find everything you needed?" he asked.

"I did. With the size of the market here, I'd be more surprised not to find something."

Erend smiled, glad she was at least saying full sentences rather than the fragments from the market. Their meals came and Aloy tucked in like she was starving.

"I've missed this stew," she said.

I've missed you, Erend thought. Instead he said, "Yeah, can't do much better than this."

Aloy watched him sip his tea. "You usually get ale here." It was an observation, nothing more, but it felt like an accusation.

"I'm cutting back. Or at least, I'm trying to. Because you were right. Ersa wouldn't have wanted me to be like this."

"I'm glad," Aloy said and though he could tell she meant it, there was still something missing from her voice. All the fondness and warmth she used to keep for him was hidden, replaced by wary caution.

"Look, Aloy, about that night, I - "

"It's fine, Erend."

"You left for three months without even saying goodbye, I wouldn't call that fine."

"Can we please not do this here?" She sighed, closing her eyes briefly. "I'd rather not have an audience."

Erend glanced around at the other patrons in the tavern. "All right. But we will talk about this."

"As you like." They finished eating in silence. The loss of their easy friendship ached like a rotten tooth and Erend hated it. He wanted Aloy back. He wanted to tease her, flirt with her, to have her reply with her usual fond sarcasm and biting wit.

The meal finished, Erend left a pile of shards on the table and followed Aloy outside into the night air. She led the way through the city toward the balcony. Their balcony, as Erend had come to think of it. The balcony where she had once promised him two minutes of her time.

"You wanted to talk," she said, crossing her arms and looking at him with that neutral, closed expression he was beginning to hate.

"Well, first I wanted to apologize. That night, my behavior, I . . ."

"It's okay, Erend."

"If everything was okay, why did you leave? You didn't even say goodbye."

"I just needed to go."

"Why?" Aloy shook her head and Erend abruptly felt angry. "Damn it, talk to me! You leave for three months without a word and then when you come back, you act like a stranger. Was it my drinking? Was it something else, something I did or said? Fire and spit, Aloy, I need to know what I did to drive you away!"

"You didn't! It wasn't . . . I needed . . ." She turned away in frustration and his anger dissipated with a rush, leaving him tired and depressed. He sighed, leaning against the railing and rubbing his face with his hands.

"I missed you," he said.

She mirrored his position against the rail. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Erend, I just . . . I couldn't stay and then when I came back, I . . . "

"Why did you leave?"

She stared out at the moon just beginning to rise, its light bathing her face in a dim glow. "Because I didn't want to see you like that anymore. Because I realized that nothing I could say would make you change if you didn't want to. And I didn't . . . what you said about Ersa, about me only getting there in time to see her die . . . I thought maybe you wouldn't want me to stay."

Erend wanted to say something, to take away the quiet resignation in her voice and the slump in her normally straight, proud shoulders, but the words wouldn't come.

"I've helped so many people," Aloy continued. "I've saved people from machines, I saved them from the Eclipse, from Hades. The Nora think I'm their Anointed. I was made in a mountain for the sole purpose of saving this world." She sighed. "But I couldn't save Ersa. I couldn't save the one person you cared about most. I'd never thought about how that must seem to you."

Erend gently grabbed her shoulder. "Look at me," he said and hated the self-condemnation in her eyes when she did. "I say a lot of bung when I'm drunk. I don't blame you for Ersa's death. If it wasn't for you, we would never have figured out what really happened. Dervahl killed her. The fault lies with him." He released her, tears pricking hotly against his eyes. "Besides, thanks to you, I got to see her one last time."

But Aloy was shaking her head, forehead creased with guilt and frustration. "I should go," she said. "Need to get an early start in the morning."

Erend nodded, trying not to show how gutted and weary he felt. "Where are you staying?"

"Outside the city. Near the merchant's camp."

He thought of the oppressive silence of his house, of the empty bedroom. It hurt to think of Aloy being here in Meridian and not being with him. He wanted a drink, badly, and he hated himself for it.

"My invitation still stands," he said quietly. "My home is always open. Not that it feels much like home anymore." She looked at him curiously, but he didn't elaborate, instead straightening with a sigh. "I meant what I said, Aloy. I don't blame you for her death and I'm sorry for making you feel that way." He forced himself to turn away, to begin the walk to his dark, empty house and to not look back.

It was the longest walk home he had ever made. Each step seemed heavy, like he was wading through mud. At last, he reached his door and let himself in. Sighing, he began stripping off his armor, forcing himself to hang it neatly on a chair instead of leaving it to pile on the floor like he wanted to.

He'd known it had been his fault she left - how could it not be? - but he had never considered it was out of guilt. Anger, sure, or frustration, but not guilt. He remembered what he'd said, vaguely, like it had come out of someone else's mouth. That Aloy had thought he blamed her for Ersa, that she had been carrying around that guilt, made him feel sick.

The knock, when it came, was quiet and uncertain and for a moment, he wondered if he had imagined it. It came again and he opened the door to see Aloy fidgeting on the step.

"What did you mean, it doesn't feel like home anymore?" she asked.

The directness was very Aloy and he almost smiled. "A home is where the people you care for are," he said. "This is just a building now."

"Because Ersa is gone."

"Not just Ersa." He could have kicked himself. He was much too tired and sober for this conversation. "Look, Aloy - "

She kissed him. It was clumsy and unpractised and altogether too brief, but Erend felt like the world had stopped. Maybe he was dreaming and he would wake up on his couch with a dry mouth and the taste of her on his lips, but when he opened his eyes, she was still there, uncertain and nervous.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have - "

He shook his head and kissed her back. The world moved again.


	35. Not Again

**This is a sequel of sorts to a previous prompt in this series - "You Can't Be Here." Just a short little snippet, but you should probably read that one first if you want to know the whole background here.**

**Not Again**

Erend marched down the road, ignoring the ache in his side that throbbed with every step. He knew he'd regret his forced march later, but for now he was too angry. First Ersa and now Aloy.

"I didn't come for you because I knew it was a trap. Couldn't let you get hurt."

He got it, he really did. Ersa had looked after him her whole life, of course she wanted to keep him safe, but not like that, not by leaving him behind with no word of where she'd gone. If it hadn't been for Aloy, he would never have gotten answers at all.

He gritted his teeth. Ersa he could understand, but not Aloy. She should know better. At the very least, she could have told him what was going on. They were supposed to be a team after all. His entire point for being there was to back her up and instead, she ran off and left him.

What if she'd been hurt? What if she'd been killed? He couldn't go through that. Not again. Not with her.

His body finally spent the adrenaline keeping him going and he fell to his knees. His side throbbed. He knew he'd been lucky. It would have killed him if Aloy hadn't been there. He sighed heavily, wishing he could just go and drown himself in alcohol like he used to. It was so much easier not to care.


	36. Bad Idea

**Bad Idea**

"This is a bad idea."

Aloy sighed. "So you keep saying."

"Because it's true."

"Erend . . ."

"It is and you know it."

"You'll be fine. Stay here and keep quiet." She left Erend and his worried frown in the tall grass, focusing her attention to the herd of Broadhead. It only took her a few minutes to spot the most isolated one and override it, leading it away before the rest of the herd noticed.

Erend eyed it warily. "This is a bad idea."

She mounted the Broadhead easily. "It'll be fine. Get up behind me, I'll show you."

It took him a minute, but after much grumbling and muttering, he was finally seated awkwardly behind her.

"What do I hold on to?"

"Me." She didn't have to look to know he was blushing as he wrapped his arms gingerly around her waist. "Now, you hold this to steer and you use your knees to make it go. Like this." She nudged it and the machine obediently moved forward.

Erend bit down on a yelp, arms tightening around her.

"Relax," she told him. "If you tense up, you'll fall off."

"Easy for you to say." But she felt his grip loosen just a little. The machine trotted through the grass, Aloy navigating it away from rough ground.

"Okay, this isn't so bad," Erend admitted. "Not exactly comfortable, but better than I expected."

Aloy grinned. "Ready to go faster?"

"Faster?" He yelped as Aloy encouraged the machine into a canter and then a gallop. Erend's arms tighted around her, body pressed close, and Aloy laughed.

"Relax," she yelled over the wind.

"You're crazy, woman!"

Aloy laughed again. She turned the Broadhead toward Meridian. Its hoofs pounded through the dirt and grass, matching her heartbeat, and Erend was a warm, solid presence against her back.


	37. Past

**Past**

The knock on the doorframe was somehow solid and uncertain at the same time, matching the expression of the man who stood there.

"I can come back later if . . ." She smiled at him and shook her head. Erend wandered inside, gesturing ruefully at the doorway. "I promise I'll get this door fixed. I mean, it's only fair since I'm the one who kicked it in." Leaning his warhammer against the wall, he grinned at her. "I'm glad you're back."

"It's good to be back."

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

She hesitated, looking over at the little globe sitting on a table. "I did."

Erend nodded. "Good." Aloy watched him, knowing he had questions, but he simply nodded again. "Well, I should probably let you get some rest. I just wanted to stop by and . . . I'm glad you're back." As he turned, reaching for his hammer, she realized the idea of being alone wasn't very appealing.

"I found my mother," she said. "Sort of. At least, she was the closest thing to a mother I had. Her name was Elisabet Sobek."

"You said that name before," said Erend, hesitantly. "At the spire, with that thing. Hades."

"She was one of the old ones." She sat down on the couch and patted the cushions. Erend sat beside her, expression open and curious, and Aloy told him everything. About Rost. About being discovered as a baby inside the mountain. About Zero Dawn and GAIA and Elisabet Sobek. About who and what she was, both past and present. Erend simply listened, interrupting only occasionally to ask a question.

When she finished, they sat in silence.

"That's a lot to take in," Erend said finally.

"Yes, it is."

"I appreciate you telling me. It means a lot."

She let out a heavy breath. "I needed to tell someone. I'm glad you listened."

"Anytime."

"It doesn't . . . You don't mind that I was made by a machine? That I wasn't born?"

He blinked. "Why would I? You're an amazing person, Aloy, regardless of where you came from. You helped me find my sister, single handedly stopped Dervahl. Hell, you saved the entire world. I'd be an idiot to shun you just cause you came from inside a mountain, not to mention petty and ungrateful." He frowned. "Not to insult the Nora or anything."

Aloy snorted. "I'm not Nora. Not really. I don't really belong anywhere, I guess."

"Well, you're always welcome here. Meridian's a good home, if you want it to be."

"I do already have a house here apparently."

"See? Just need to get you a proper door." He smiled at her. "I'm really glad you're back."

"You've said that already."

"Cause it's true." His expression sobered. "I mean that, Aloy. I'm glad you're here, whether you were born from a person or a machine. And you may be a copy of Elisabet Sobek, but that doesn't make you any less you, any less Aloy."

Aloy's throat tightened and she had to swallow before she could speak again. "Thank you, Erend."

He grinned. "Besides, Elisabet never got to meet me so you're way ahead of her on that score."

"A true tragedy."

"Exactly." He picked up his hammer. "Before the Proving, I promised you a tour of Meridian. Offer still stands. If you want."

"I'd like that."

She watched him until he turned the corner and disappeared from view. She had never thought of Meridian as a place that could become home, but maybe, just maybe . . .

**Am I completely happy with this? Nah, not really, but sometimes, you just gotta let it go.**


	38. Stub

**Stub**

**Something blunted, stunted, or cut short**

Aloy watched Avad lead Itamen and Nasadi away, the boy still staying close to his mother.

"Fancy meeting you here." She turned to see Erend leaning against the wall, arms crossed.

"You know me, always in the middle of everything."

He straightened up and joined her, looking after the royal procession. "Avad was thrilled when he heard the news. A chance to land a blow to the Shadow Carja and get Itamen away from Sunfall and those crazies that run it."

"He was just a puppet. Told what to say and what to do. No one should have to grow up in fear like that."

Erend had a strange expression on his face. "Yeah, I can't imagine he had much of a childhood. Jiran was certainly no father." He sighed, shaking off whatever he'd been thinking. "You sticking around?"

Aloy shook her head. "I still have business in Sunfall. Answers I need to find."

"Be careful. I mean, I know you will be, obviously, and you can clearly take care of yourself, but still - "

She put a hand on his arm, cutting off his rambling. "I'll see you around, Erend."

"You better. I still have to redeem my two minutes."

Aloy shook her head and waved to him as she headed down the road.

**Takes place after the Queen's Gambit quest line and before Deep Secrets of the Earth. Avad came to Brightmarket and I think Erend and some Vanguard would have been mustered to go along too.**


	39. Rhymer

**Rhymer**

**A writer who composes rhymes; a maker of poor verses**

"You write poetry?"

Erend blinked. "What?"

The man sat next to him at the bar. "I write poetry. Well, I try anyway."

"That's . . . nice."

He was obviously Carja - none of the other tribes really went in for poetry so far as he knew.

"I saw a girl today," the Carja continued, oblivious to Erend's disinterest. "Oh she was incredible. I've been working on something, want to hear?"

"Not really," said Erend, but the man ignored him, instead pulling out a scrap of paper with glyphs scrawled across it.

"Huntress, clothed with bow and spear. Your face determined, without fear. Your hair, burning, like the sky at sunrise. Your form, lithe, a precious prize." The man looked over expectantly. "That's all I've got so far."

Erend blinked again. "It's, uh . . . nice."

"I just want to do her justice. I've never seen anyone so . . . stunning. And the way she took down that Snapmaw . . ."

"Snapmaw?"

"On the way here. I was struggling to find the right words on a new poem and stumbled into one. But then she appeared. It was like . . . like . . ."

"A dance. Like she was born with a spear in one hand and a bow in the other."

The Carja smiled. "Exactly! May I borrow that?"

Erend shrugged. "Go ahead." He finished his drink - he limited himself these days - and slid off the seat. "Good luck with the . . . poem writing."

"Thank you! Perhaps I will see her again."

"Maybe." Erend shook his head as he stepped outside. He couldn't wait to tell Aloy she had a new admirer.

**Writing poetry is hard.**


	40. Meth

**Meth**

Aloy was staring at the dead Sawtooth, a contemplative expression on her face.

Erend frowned. "You okay?"

"Just thinking about someone."

"Should I be jealous?"

She snorted. "His name was Brin. He was a Banuk Shaman until they banished him for drinking machine blood."

Erend stared at her in disgust. "He drank machine blood?"

"Apparently it gave him visions."

"Yeah, I'll bet it did."

"Some of them turned out to be true. Well, sort of."

"If you start drinking this stuff, I'm outta here."

Shaking her head, Aloy resumed her scrapping. "His last vision was so terrible he decided to leave. Something about the end of the world."

"I mean, that did kinda happen, I guess." He shook his head. "Machine blood though. Can't be good for you."

"And that Scrappersap you drink is?"

"Hey at least it doesn't give me visions. Usually." He remembered an evening of overindulgence that did definitely end in alcohol induced visions and decided not to bring it up. Instead, he pulled a machine core out of the Sawtooth, looking at the fluid dripping to the dirt.

"Gross. Just . . . no." And he wiped it off on the grass.


	41. Gifting Fail

**Gifting Fail**

Erend's house looked like a herd of Tramplers had gone through it. The man himself was dressed only in a loose shirt and pants, both of which were streaked with dust.

"If you're busy, I can come back later," Aloy said.

"I was just doing some cleaning. Could use a break actually."

"This is cleaning?"

Erend laughed. "That's what I keep telling myself." He seemed different and Aloy realized she'd never seen him out of his armor before. Her cheeks flushed and she turned away. A flash of color draped over a chair caught her attention.

"Is that . . . a dress?"

"Ha, yeah. It was Ersa's." He picked it up, smiling. "See she had this suitor one time and he kept trying to impress her. So he'd buy her things like flowers and jewelry, stuff that Carja women usually like only this is Ersa and she's more into things like war hammers and armor, and one day, he shows up with this dress. And it's beautiful, but it sure as hell wasn't Ersa, especially not coming from him. I'd forgotten she kept it."

"So what happened with the suitor?"

Erend grinned. "Well, word might've gotten around to the other Vanguard and we might've . . . interfered a bit."

"This sounds like a story I want to hear."

"Oh it definitely is. Tus tells it better than I do though. You should come out with us sometime. The Vanguard all want to buy you drinks. And exchange tales of valor."

Aloy shook her head with a smile. "Sounds . . . interesting. I look forward to it."

"I wish you could have met Ersa. You two would have gotten along like a hammer and forge." He eyed her. "You probably wouldn't go for flowers and jewelry either, I'm guessing."

"Depends."

"On?"

She crossed her arms with a smirk. "On who's doing the giving. And what the occasion is." His brow furrowed thoughtfully and she raised an eyebrow. "Planning on doing some gifting, Captain?"

"Me? No, I just . . . curiosity, you know."

"Uh-huh."

He flushed and cleared his throat, turning away to move into the kitchen. "I want some tea, you thirsty?" Aloy smiled fondly at his back and followed him.


	42. Take Note

**Take Note**

Erend was always the first person to greet her when she arrived in Meridian. No matter which entrance she used, he was there with that large grin she found so endearing. Even when she arrived in the middle of the night, crashing almost immediately onto the bed in Olin's old place, Erend was waiting outside the next morning to grab breakfast with her.

"How do you always know I'm here?" she asked him once when they were walking together through the market.

"I have my ways," he said and winked. "Besides, you're hard to miss with that hair."

"Seriously, Erend, how do you always know?"

He grinned and brushed his fingertips along the small braids curling over her ears. "The guards tell me."

"What? That fast?"

"I've never really asked, but apparently they have some sort of signal system. Whistles or hand signals or something, I don't know. The minute one spots you, they spread the word to the other guards who spread the word to the other guards who tell the Vanguard who find me."

Aloy shook her head, smiling. "And how, exactly, did they know to come up with this system?"

Erend blushed. "I, um . . . Well, I might have used to, you know, spend a lot of time at the different watch posts just . . . watching. For you." Aloy's smile grew wider. She could picture Erend, trying and failing to suppress his anticipation at seeing her again and though she didn't know the Meridian guards or the Vanguard very well, she did know the gossip that went on behind everyone's back. She also knew how much they looked after Erend.

"I'll have to remember to thank them," she said and kissed him lightly.


	43. Tomorrow

**Tomorrow**

"You're leaving again, aren't you." It was not a question and Aloy sighed wryly.

"That obvious, huh?"

"No, I just recognize that look."

"Look?"

"The 'I'm feeling confined and need to see the world' look."

She looked up at him. "Erend, I . . . "

He shook his head, smiling with that fond, dreamy expression he got sometimes when he looked at her. "Never apologize for being yourself. I know you get restless when you're stuck in one place for too long. I knew that when I married you. As long as you come back safe, I'm satisfied."

Tears filled Aloy's eyes. "I love you," she said. "I know I never say it, but I do. Very, very much."

He cupped her face in his hand and leaned down to kiss her softly. "When are you leaving?"

"I . . . Tomorrow if I can." His face fell, though he tried to hide it. He deserved better than her. He deserved someone who would settle down with him in Meridian, who didn't feel the itch to roam, to climb, to sleep under the sky.

"Well, the sooner you leave, the sooner you can come back," he said. Aloy felt another wave of tears rising hot in her throat.

"We have tonight," she whispered, gripping his scarf and pulling him to her. "Tonight I'm all yours." She kissed him with every ounce of passion she could muster, trying to convey in that single action all the words she couldn't say, all the love and guilt and joy she felt in that moment and every moment.


	44. Okay

**Okay**

The party was in full swing inside and Erend felt suffocated. All this noise and laughter and it felt wrong because Ersa wasn't there. He thought he'd been doing okay, he thought he had gotten over the worst of it, but the grief, the loss, and the gaping hole left by her death continued to rise up, threatening to choke him. He stumbled to the door and out, unnoticed by all the revelers save one.

The night air was cool against his face. He sat down on one of the benches, grateful for the empty streets.

"You okay?" Aloy, hesitant and concerned.

He took a deep breath, willing his voice to be steady. "Yeah, just needed some air."

A pause. "You're not."

"Not what?"

"Okay. You're pretending to be, but you're not."

"Look, just drop it alright? I'm said I'm fine."

Aloy fell silent, but didn't move, staring down at the pendant she always wore around her neck. "It's okay to not be fine," she said quietly. "You just lost your sister. It takes time."

He remembered abruptly, like a hazy dream, something she'd said when she first arrived in Meridian.

"I lost someone too. At the Proving. The man who raised me. His name was Rost."

At the time, he'd been too wrapped up in his own grief to care, too drunk to be sympathetic or to even understand what had happened. Aloy turned to go back inside. In the light from the doorway, he saw old sorrow etched in her eyes.

"Wait, Aloy . . ." He stood up with a sigh. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap." He glanced back at the open door and the boisterous voices inside. "You maybe want to find someplace quiet? I'd . . . I'd like to tell you about Ersa and maybe . . . maybe you could tell me about Rost."

She nodded, her smile fragile but genuine. "I'd like that."


	45. Full Disclosure

**Full Disclosure**

"Is it true you only flirt with me?"

Erend flushed, eyes wide. "What do you mean?" he stammered.

"Talanah mentioned it. She said you used to flirt with everyone, but now you only do it with me."

With each passing second, Erend looked more and more like a rabbit confronted by a fox. "I, well, that is . . . she's just misremembering." Aloy raised an eyebrow and Erend turned scarlet. "I should probably get going," he said, standing abruptly and nearly falling over the bench. "Got a lot of Vanguard business and training and . . . business."

Aloy watched with amusement as he practically ran out of the building, face still bright red.

He did a decent job of avoiding her most of the day, but she finally caught up to him at the palace, standing on his favorite balcony. She joined him at the railing with an apologetic smile.

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable earlier."

"You didn't." She raised her eyebrows and he sighed. "Okay, maybe a little, but it's fine. It's . . ."

"Something we should talk about," Aloy finished.

"Should we?"

"Erend."

He frowned unhappily down at his hands. "Look, I flirt and I make jokes, it's just how I am. I'll stop if you want. I know you don't feel the same way."

Aloy sighed. "You're an idiot."

He looked at her, startled. "What?"

She rose up on her toes, grabbed his scarf, and kissed him.

"I said, you're an idiot."

Erend stared at her, mouth slightly open, completely dumbfounded.


	46. Intentions

**So this, technically, is an alternate ending to my story "The Serendipity of Thunderjaws," but it also stands alone as a snippet, hence why it is posted here.**

**Intentions**

He looked at her as she bound his ribs, her hands brushing his chest, her face just inches away. Slowly, he lifted his good arm and ran his fingers down her hair.

She stilled. "What are you doing?"

"Your hair was the first thing I saw," he said, "burning like forge-fire."

"Erend . . ."

"Aloy."

She tied off the bandage. "I need to finish so we can get back. You need rest."

"I need you."

"Please, Erend."

He grabbed her arm before she could retreat, staring desperately into her face. "You kissed me, Aloy. And it was the best thing that's ever happened. If it really was just a distraction, if it was just a . . . an innocent act between two friends, tell me and I won't bring it up again, but if it wasn't . . . please, Aloy. I need to know."

She tugged gently at her arm and he released her. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kissed you."

Erend lowered his eyes. "I understand," he said and was proud of how steady his voice was.


	47. Cure

**So the Horizon Zero Dawn: Forbidden West trailer dropped today. Anyone else ridiculously excited?! I admit it, I got so excited, I actually cried. This snippet is a direct result of that trailer so if you haven't seen it...what the heck are you doing, go watch it.**

**Cure**

The strange red plants had started as just an oddity. Then the animals started dying.

"It's like the corruption," said the scout, reporting back to Avad. "Only instead of machines, it's corrupting the plants and animals."

"What about people?" the Sunking asked.

"None yet, but . . ."

Avad nodded and dismissed him. He exchanged a worried glance with Aloy, Erend, and Marad, all gathered around the throne. "Could this be Hades?"

Aloy shook her head. "I don't know. But I intend to find out."

"When do you leave?"

"As soon as I gather supplies."

Erend stepped forward before Avad could even ask. "I can help with that, make sure she has what she needs."

The Sunking nodded his thanks and Aloy headed out of the palace, already mentally running through where she would go and what she would have to take. It was after several minutes that she realized Erend, following her, had yet to say anything. When she looked at him, his brows were drawn together in a worried frown and his eyes seemed to see something far away from the Meridian streets.

"Hey."

He blinked, visibly pulling himself back to the here and now. "Sorry. What were you saying?"

"You okay?"

"Just thinking."

She grabbed his elbow, pulling him out of the crowd and over to a relatively secluded corner. "Talk to me, Erend."

"I just . . ." He sighed. "I wish it didn't have to be you."

"You know it can't be anyone else."

"Yeah, I know. But still."

She cupped his cheek gently, beard tickling her palm. "I know."

"I wish I could go with you."

"You're needed here. If this corruption or whatever it is keeps spreading, Avad is going to need you to help keep order. Besides, who else can I trust to keep everyone safe?"

He covered her hand with his. Lightly kissing her fingertips, he smiled. "I love you, you know."

"I never would have guessed."

Their hands dropped to their sides, fingers till entwined.

Erend nodded the direction of the market. "What supplies does the Savior of Meridian need to tackle this new threat?" Aloy squeezed his hand and together they moved back into the crowded street.

* * *

The morning dawned with Aloy loading a tame Strider outside the Meridian Gate.

Erend handed her the last pack. "Sure you got everything?"

"Anything else I can get along the way." She turned to face him. "I'll be back as soon as I can, as soon as I find some answers."

"We'll be here."

"I'm counting on it."

He leaned down and kissed her, hard and fierce. "Don't forget about me," he said, "while you're out there saving the world."

"Never."

"Two minutes?"

"Always." She kissed him again and then turned away so he couldn't see the tears filling her eyes. Mounting the Strider, she nudged it into a trot and then a gallop, refusing to look back at the city that was her home and the man she loved more than anything else in the world. She couldn't afford to look back, not if she wanted to save them.


	48. Read Only

**Read Only**

To anyone who didn't know her, it looked like Aloy was swiping through empty air. Erend, chin resting on his crossed arms on the table, knew better. He was used to this, to seeing the glow of the focus perched at her ear and the look of concentration on her face.

"What do you look at on there?" he asked, fully prepared to be ignored but too curious not to ask.

Aloy hummed absently. "Just some files."

"Oh."

She glanced at him and tapped her focus. "It scans things sometimes. Files and letters from the Old Ones. They're . . . interesting."

"Read me one?" Aloy blinked in surprise. "You don't have to, obviously. I was just curious."

She smiled a little at that. Reactivating her focus, she scrolled through the air a moment before pausing and beginning to read.

**Originally, I was going to pick one of the in-game files for her to be reading, but I decided to leave it. There were just too many good ones to choose from. This way, you guys can decide which one it is and save me the work, lol.**


	49. Not Like This

**A while back, I received a prompt in one of the comments on AO3 (where these are cross-posted, if you didn't already know that). It took me a bit, but I finally got around to writing it. Thanks for the prompt, basingtei!**

**Not Like This**

Blood stained her hands.

"Stay with me."

Crimson and bright and wrong.

"Erend, stay with me."

Too much blood. She knew that, knew he could only lose so much.

"Look at me. You need to stay awake."

Grey eyes, the color of storms and the fine ash left in the forge, now turned dull and glazed. Too much red.

"You survived the liberation of Meridian, you survived Hades, you can't die on me, Erend. Not like this."

It hadn't been anything. Just a handful of Shadow Carja unwilling to accept defeat and attempting to assassinate Avad. Their plan was sloppy and ill-conceived, their intent telegraphed before they actually pulled their weapons. In a matter of minutes, the threat was eliminated and the aggressors either dead or surrendered.

But in the chaos and subsequent relief, she hadn't seen the knife.

Erend's breath hitched. "Avad?"

"You kept him safe, like you always do." His eyes slipped shut. "Stay with me. I still owe you those two minutes, remember?"

Erend breathed out a short, painful laugh. "Never owed me anything, Aloy."

She called his name, but his eyes wouldn't open. Blood stained her hands.

"Stay with me."

Crimson and bright and wrong.

"Please, Erend. Not like this."

Not like this.

**Seriously, if you guys come across a prompt you like or think is cool, pop it in the comments. No promises on whether I'll actually write something or not, but I will at the very least add it to my prompt lists.**


	50. Stabbed In

**I've done 50 of these prompts, holy crap! This one is actually a sequel to the previous prompt "Not Like This." I love it when prompts fit together, don't you?**

**Stabbed in…**

Erend didn't expect to wake up, but he did. Confused at first, he gradually realized he was not dead, but in the healer's wing of the palace. He was naked save for his pants and the thick bandages wrapped his middle. He fingered them gently, remembering vague images of a knife and pain and red hair.

"Stay with me. I still owe you those two minutes, remember?"

Something warm and solid trapped his left arm. He turned his head to see Aloy, fast asleep with her head pillowed on her arms, his hand held securely in hers. She looked exhausted and absolutely beautiful. Gently, he lifted his free hand and stroked her hair, brushing it back from her face.

"She's refused to leave." A healer stood in the doorway, voice quiet. "I'm glad she's sleeping at last."

"How long?" Erend asked.

The healer pulled back the blanket to check his bandage. "Four days since you were brought in. For two of those days, we weren't sure you would make it."

"That bad, huh."

Aloy stirred under his hand.

"Maybe you can get her to rest and eat," the healer said.

Erend nodded absently, still stroking Aloy's hair as she opened her eyes. He saw the moment recognition flared across her face, a fierce joy coupled with afraid disbelief.

"Erend?"

He smiled and that, apparently, was enough. Tears rose in her eyes and she gently hugged him around the neck, face buried in his chest.

"It's okay," he murmured. "I'm okay."

"You almost weren't."

Erend held her as close as he could. "I'm sorry."

She pulled away just enough that she could look at him, staring into his eyes like she was drowning. One hand brushed through his hair and down his cheek and then she was kissing him. Her lips were dry and warm and Erend felt alive.

"If that's all it took, I should almost die more often," he said when she pulled away and she scowled at him.

"I'd punch you if you weren't lying down," Aloy said and kissed him again. Now that she was closer and he was more awake, Erend could see the shadows under her eyes, the exhaustion and worry that painted her forehead and the edges of her mouth. He shifted as best he could, ignoring the twinges of pain from his side.

"What are you doing?"

"Making room for you." He settled back with a sigh, unnerved at how much effort moving that little had been. Aloy continued to look at him in confusion so he patted the bed beside him.

"I don't want to hurt you," she said.

"You won't. Besides, I've been dying to have you in my bed for ages now." She rolled her eyes, but got up anyway. Carefully, she lay down beside him, her head pillowed on his chest and her arm resting just above the bandages.

"See?" said Erend and kissed the top of her head. "Perfect." He managed to stay awake long enough to hear Aloy's breathing even out into sleep before he joined her.


End file.
